Rep. Conyers announces he's retiring, endorses son to fill seat

06 December, 2017

Conyers, has admitted to paying a settlement to a former staffer but denies her sexual harassment allegations.

Ian Conyers, the grandson of the Michigan Democrat's brother, told The New York Times he plans on announcing that he will not return to the House of Representatives after his term ends in 2018, mentioning his health as the reason for retiring. "He is going to retire, ' Conyers" great-nephew Ian, a MI state senator, told the New York Times, adding that he planned to run for the seat in Congress himself, suggesting Conyers would step down at the end of his term and won't seek reelection.

In the days following the allegations, Conyers, who is the longest serving current House member, had fiercely denied the allegations against him and vowed to fight to clear his name.

Conyers, who was first elected in 1964 and went on to become a founding member in 1971 of the Congressional Black Caucus, easily won re-election previous year to his 27th term in the heavily Democratic district. "It will be Congressman John Conyers who decides what it is he is going to do". Pelosi and Ryan had called for Conyers to resign. "This too shall pass", he said, calling in from a local hospital.

Conyers told Mildred Gaddis he's confident in his legacy, despite multiple sexual harassment claims against him, and that his legacy will continue through his children.

Following news of the allegations, Conyers was hospitalized in Detroit for a stress-related illness, according to his lawyer Arnold Reed. He is the longest-serving member in the House.

"Seattle's Rep. Pramila Jayapal, who served with Conyers on the House Judiciary Committee, demanded his resignation a week ago, saying there should be "'zero tolerance' for sexual harassment".

The sexual harassment allegations against Conyers surfaced November 20 after BuzzFeed News reported he settled a wrongful dismissal complaint with an employee in 2015 for $27,000 in exchange for a confidentiality agreement and that he made advances toward female staffers, including requests for sexual favors, caressing their hands in a "sexually suggestive" way, and rubbing their legs and backs in an inappropriate manner while in the office or in public.

The 88-year-old congressman is facing several sexual harassment allegations from former staff members.

But amid a drumbeat of allegations he groped or sexual harassed women who worked for him, he faced growing calls to resign from colleagues in the House, including Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi. Joe Barton, R-Texas, Blake Farenthold, R-Texas, and Sen.

When asked if Congress should disclose the details of settlements made by other lawmakers in cases of sexual misconduct or harassment, Conyers replied with "a strong, unequivocal yes".

The rally at the Hartford Memorial Baptist Church on James Couzens in Detroit comes as some members of the media and Congress have called for Conyers to resign.

Trump pushing Hatch to run for 8th termDec 06, 2017
The report stated in more recent times, Hatch also played a pivotal role in passing Trump's tax reform bill through the Senate. Trump called Hatch a "fighter" during a speech at the Utah State Capitol later Monday.

Yemen's Saleh killed in ambushDec 05, 2017
Earlier on Monday, a Sanaa-based activist said that the Houthis had gained control of most of Sanaa from Saleh's forces. The Huthi-controlled interior ministry announced Saleh's death on the rebels' Al-Masirah television station.

Infosys hires Salil Parekh of Capgemini as its new CEODec 03, 2017
The Euro 12.5-billion ($14.9 billion) Capgemini is a 50-year-old firm with about 200,000 employees in 40 countries the world over. Salil S Parekh will replace U B Pravin Rao, who had earlier replaced Vishal Sikka as the interim CEO and Managing Director.

NSA staffer pleads guilty over taking home top secret filesDec 03, 2017
Although Pho's offense carries a possible 10-year sentence, prosecutors in the case agreed not to seek more than eight years. Pho is the latest NSA employee to be charged in the last two years for taking classified information, according to Reuters .